Partners in Crime
by harleyprincess
Summary: Lily Evans led a normal life until the day an owl flew through her window. Since then nothing has been the same.
1. Default Chapter

This is my first fanfic. It was on The Harry potter website under the name. This story starts when Lily is 11 years old. Please read and review

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I do own Natalie White though.

Chapter One

THE DREAM AND THE NEIGHBOR

_The night air was blowing against the windows. A cool breeze gently brushed across the face of a little girl. In front of her was a two-story house made of brick. There were several lights on: two on the bottom floor and on eon the top floor. The girl's feet carried her towards the door as if she had no control over them. Her right hand slowly reached for the door handle and turned it. The door was locked. Her mind said to turn around and leave, but her body moved forward. She anticipated the pain of running into the door, but it never came. Instead she went right through it. The girl began to walk down a dark hallway. Her mind had given up trying to control her feet._

_She walked into a brightly lit room. There was a couch, two recliners, a bookcase, a desk and a warm fire in the fireplace. The room was an ordinary den. She walked toward the bookcase looking for clues to where she was. There were numerous pictures around the room. Her eyes couldn't focus on the exact faces of the people, yet that was not exactly important at the moment. The people in the picture were waving at her. That is impossible! Pictures cannot move. Right? She leaned closer to the picture for a better look when she heard footsteps and laughter behind her. Quickly, she turned around to see a pair of feet walking down the staircase just outside the den. She couldn't hide because her feet were stuck to the floor. A man walked into the room, holding a baby in his arms. He was looking straight at her and was walking toward her. She was about to open her mouth to apologize for the intrusion when the man and the baby walked right through her._

Eleven-year old Lily Evans shot straight out of her bed screaming. It took her a moment to realize that she was still in her own room. The furniture was in the same place it had been before when she went to sleep. Everything was in its usual comfy place. Michael and Anna Evans quietly stood in the doorway and watched their daughter with worried expressions.Mrs. Evans walked beside Lily's bed with Mr. Evans behind her. She sat on the bed and took her daughter's face into her hands. She gently turned Lily's gaze toward her.

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Evans asked. The question took a few moments to register in Lily's mind. She nodded when she finally understood the question, not trusting her voice. Mrs. Evans was not fooled. She slowly turned around to her husband. He noticed the worried look and was about to speak, but he paused. He looked from his wife at his daughter. Lily was in a cold sweat, slowly catching her breath, and two silent tears were gently rolling down her cheeks. Mr. and Mrs. Evans gave their daughter a warm hug and a kiss on her forehead. He then placed his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Try to get some sleep."

"I'll try" Lily replied no louder than a whisper. The Evans left the room leaving Lily's door slightly ajar. She sat in the darkness as she listened to her parents footsteps fade down the hall. The room was quiet again with the exception of Lily's uneven breathing. She inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, calming herself slightly. Lying down and pulling the covers around her, Lily stared at the ceiling, replaying her dream in her head. The recollection was a bit hazy and the only part that seem to stand out was the man walking through her. "That was a strange dream" she muttered. After what seemed like an eternity of rolling around, Lily finally fell asleep.

The next morning, Lily was moving a little slower than she normally would. She walked toward her closet on the other side of her spacious room. Her closet was not an average closet. It was a long room filled to maximum capacity. Lily went straight to the far end where she grabbed a pair of khakis pants and a long, white sleeved shirt. Then she headed toward the mirror on her vanity. Lily stood in front of the mirror and grabbed a rubber band. In one swift movement, her hair was put in a low pony tail.

Next she walked back to the mirror and paused to survey her outfit. Lily looked at her reflection. She saw the same almond-shaped green eyes, ivory colored skin, and thick, dark red hair that when loose flowed to the middle of her back. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"What you see is what you get," Lily said out loud. She scrunched up her face in the mirror and laughed. Turning around, Lily looked at the clock beside her bed. It read eight o'clock. Lily left her room and began to walk down the familiar path to the kitchen. The hall was covered with family portraits and painting. At the end of the hall was a long, wooden staircase. The staircase curved toward the left and ended beside the front door. Lily looked back down the she had walked up then over the staircase's banister for any sign of activity. There was none. She smiled to herself. Positioning herself on the top stair, Lily skillfully hoisted herself onto the banister and let herself glide down. The floor was rising quickly. She jumped to late and landed on her bum. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment as she walked toward the kitchen.

Inside she found her mother and father sitting at a small table that was used when the family did not eat in the dining room. Mrs. Evans was looking at a magazine. In Lily's eyes, her mother was beautiful. She had dark brown eyes, auburn hair, and a cream shade of skin. Then Lily glanced at her father. He was reading the newspaper like he always did. Mr. Evans was wearing a navy blue business suit with a black tie. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes. His face was soft and youthful with a wide mouth that was used to smiling. Out of all the his charming features, Lily loved his eyes the most. Mr. Evans could be extremely serious, but his eyes always had the smallest hint of playfulness in them.

Lily smiled at her parents. They didn't notice that she was standing there. Not wanting to disturb them, she crept across the floor and skillfully pulled out chair from the table without making any noise. Lily reached for an apple from the center of the table and said, "Good morning."

Both of them jumped slightly. It was unusual for Lily to purposely be quiet.

"How long have you been there?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Not long."

"Is your sister up yet?" Mr. Evans asked, putting his newspaper down so he could take a sip of tea.

"Don't ask me. I'm her sister, not her keeper" Lily replied simply, taking a bite of her apple.

"Lily" Mr. Evans said warningly.

"What? She doesn't keep an eye on me anymore. Besides, I think she likes it when I'm not around" she stated huffily.

"Lily! That's a terrible thing to say about your sister!" exclaimed Mrs. Evans.

"But…"

"No buts young lady. It is completely natural for siblings not to get along, but deep down she has strong feelings for you" Mrs. Evans said with assurance.

"Yeah, called deep loathing" Lily muttered

"Lillian Marie" Mr. Evans said more warningly than before. Lily's jaw dropped. "She started it" she exclaimed pointing toward the kitchen door.

"I'm ending it" Mrs. Evans said. The breakfast went on uneventfully. The Evans knew their daughters did not see eye-to-eye on things. In Lily's mind that was putting it lightly. Petunia was two years older than Lily. Standing beside one another, a person would never assume the two were related. Petunia had a bony, neck, horse like face, brown hair, and brown eyes. The reason for the feud was a mystery. The girls had gotten along when they were younger, then one day Petunia started to treat Lily as if she was invisible.

"May I be excused?" Lily asked. She kissed both her parents and left the room. As soon as the door had swung shut, Lily collided right into Petunia. Both girls were knocked down by the collision.

"Watch where you're going, you twit!" Petunia huffed as she brushed herself off. Petunia and Lily stood up at the same time, though not for long. Lily was knocked to the floor by Petunia's shoulder as she passed by. She smiled triumphantly as she walked into the kitchen. Lily was also smiling. _If she thinks I'm going to let that slide, then she is thicker than I thought._ Then another thought flashed through her mind.

"Mom, can I go next door?"

"Alright, but be home in time for tea."

Lily quickly ran to her room and grabbed a pair of tennis shoes. She carried them to the front door and went outside. She slide her feet into the shoes and situated her feet. To the left of her brick house was a blue house that belonged to the White family. Lily casually walked up to the front door and let herself in.

Inside, there was a faint sound of dishes being moved. Lily followed it down a hall to a swinging door. Pushing it, she caught a man and a woman cleaning up a small table in the middle of the room.

"Morning" she called brightly, effectively surprising the pair as she had done her parents.

Oh Lily, darling, could you knock next time?" the woman asked with a smile on her face. The man walked over toward Lily with his suit jacket over his arm and a cup of tea in his hand. "She's out back" he whispered to Lily as he kissed the top of Lily's head. Then he walked toward his wife and gave her a kiss. This was Lily's cue to leave. She let herself out the backdoor of the kitchen as easily as she let herself in.

In the backyard there was a girl about Lily's age with short, brown hair standing with her back to Lily. She had a bow and arrow in her hands and was shooting at a target thirty feet away.

"When are you going to storm the castle and steal the money to give to the poor?" Lily yelled with a laugh. The girl turned around and fixed Lily with a questioning look.

"I figure I'll storm the castle when you find Peter Pan and fly off to Neverland" she countered. The girl put her bow on the ground.

"Natalie, I couldn't make the trip in time because I have to be home in time for tea. Besides you would have to come with me. I can't handle all the Lost Boys by myself" Lily laughed again.

"True" Natalie grinned.

The girls began to talk, more like scheming, about what to do about Petunia. Natalie and Lily had been best friends since either could remember. Lily gave Natalie a brief summary of the "Petunia encounter" earlier and waited for any possible suggestions Natalie might come up with. She was silent for a minute. Then, she turned to Lily and asked "How much trouble are we willing to get into?"

"I don't care" Lily said offhandedly.

"Come on, out of all the people to say that to, you should know better than to say that to me."

"Excuse me?"

"Lily, I'm your best friend. The only other people who know you better than me are your parents. You're terrified of getting into trouble, especially if it means tarnishing you're your precious, Daddy's little girl status" Natalie said, pushing Lily playfully.

"Okay so I'm afraid of getting caught by my Dad, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"We're going to get caught you know"

"Yeah, but it will be worth it. So are you in Nattie?"

"When have I not been in?"


	2. The Worst Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do own the character Natalie White.

Please read and review.

Chapter 2

THE WORST DAY

A couple of hours later, Lily was sitting on her bed strumming a guitar. It was her most prized possessions especially with its engraving of an Easter lily on the base. Music always had a calming effect on Lily's mood. At the moment, this little quirk was extremely useful. Earlier, Lily had been sent to her room as punishment for the "little" prank she and Natalie had played on Petunia. When Mr. Evans returned from work, he sat her down and gave his usual speech on how disappointed he was in her and pointed towards the staircase. She climbed with her head held high.

"Lily?" a voice called from outside her window. Lily placed the guitar gently beside its case. Quickly glancing at the partially opened bedroom door, she went to the window and opened it. Across the way, Natalie was sitting on her window sill waving at Lily. That was the great advantage about Lily and Natalie's houses living side-by-side, adjacent bedrooms. The girls would talk and sit at the window on rainy days or when they were in trouble.

" 'Lo" Lily said with a yawn. Natalie tilted her head to the side. "You alright?"

"I will be" Lily sighed

"Did he give the usual?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"Any rain?" Natalie asked worriedly.

"Two drops."

"Ah… Lil"

"I know, but I'm getting better. I'm only eleven. So how long are you in for?" Natalie's face went blank. Lily had never seen that happen before.

"Umm… actually to be quite honest, Mum and Dad said 'Go to your room. We need to talk to the Evans.'"

"What's that about?" Lily asked. Natalie did not reply. Instead, she just shrugged. Lily looked closely at Natalie's face. There was something in the depths of her brown eyes. _She's hiding something, but why do I see fear and sadness in her eyes?_ Before Lily could voice her concerns, the bedroom door was pushed wide open. Mr. And Mrs. Evans were occupying the doorway, looking at Lily with a grave expression.

"Who died?" she blurted out, without thinking.

"Oh, no one sweetie. Your father and I think you have been punished enough" with that comment they left.

"Okay" she muttered slowly. Remembering Natalie, she turned around to find Natalie talking to her parents. Mr. White had a stern look on his face. Lily knew better than to interrupt that conversation so she just closed her window and returned to the bed. She placed her guitar into its case and then placed it under the bed. Lily found her nightgown and went to bed.

The next day was a day in Lily's life that she would never forget. From the moment her eyes fluttered open, the foreboding feeling that was not right was overwhelming. At breakfast, Petunia's cold stare was a quick signal that if the Evans left the house, Lily was fair game._ This is not good,_ Lily thought. No one seemed to notice that she kept her head down for the rest of the meal.

As soon as the dishes were cleared from the table, Lily asked for permission to go to Natalie's house. _Let me get out of the house before Petunia tries to kill me. _Two minutes later after safely locking her room, Lily was walking up the stairs to Natalie's room.

"Natalie?" Lily called as she knocked on the door. Natalie opened the door with a small smile. With a deep sigh, she looked at Lily, "We need to talk."

The girls walked side-by-side down the stairs and into Natalie's backyard. There was a large dogwood tree on the edge of the White's property. They sat down under the tree and leaned their backs against the tree's trunk. Silence fell upon both of them.

"So," Lily began, "does this have anything to do with our prank yesterday?"

"No, but that was fun."

"How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad. We've always done everything together right? School, free time, and… everything."

"Nattie, don't beat around the bush, just come out and say it" Lily replied tiredly.

"I've got accepted to a private school and I've chosen to go." Natalie stole a glance at Lily. Her face displayed a mixture of emotion that ranged from anger to confusion.

"Is it a good school?' Lily asked after she found her voice.

"I don't know, I think it is" Natalie shrugged.

"What type of school is it?"

"I don't know."

"When do you leave?"

"Sometime in September."

"It's in the middle of July. What's going to happen to us?"

"That's for us to decide."

Lily turned to Natalie and they embraced in a bone crushing hug. Both got up and went to their houses. The rest of the day Lily stayed locked up in her room, wondering how she was going to survive, especially Petunia's wrath, without Natalie.

_Things cannot get any worse._


	3. The Choice

Wow, I haven't posted in a while. Sorry. I've been concentrating on my upcoming graduation. Thanks Alatariel Linwe Narmolanya for reviewing this.

Disclamier: see chapters one and two

Chapter Three

THE CHOICE

_You're mine! Petunia screamed as she chased Lily, with a butcher knife in her hand._

Lily's eyes jerked open a she drew in a quick breath. For the past couple of days, the image of Petunia trying to catch her had haunted Lily's dreams. _This is getting ridiculous._ She rolled in her bed to look for the clock, but was distracted by something else in the room. The curtains on the window were being blown by a gentle breeze. _I didn't leave my window open…did I? _

Lily rolled onto her back and hoped to fall asleep. Closing her eyes, the horrible images of Petunia returned and her eyes flew open once more. This would have been a normal had it not been for the big, pair of eyes staring back at her. Slowly, Lily glanced at the animal and concluded it was an owl. It had a yellowish piece of paper in its beak. The owl waited a moment longer and dropped the paper on her chest. It gave a "hoot" sound as it flew out the window, closing it in the process. Lily remained still. With a trembling hand, she reached for the paper. The texture was thicker than usual paper. Confused, Lily pulled herself upright in her bed, trying to read by the faint glow of the sun rising.

Rotating the thick paper, she realized it was a letter because of the wax seal. The seal itself was strange. There was a capital "H" surrounded by four animals. On the front of the letter it read:

Miss Lily Evans

Last Bedroom on the Second Floor

1753 Angeline Lane

London

_They know which room is mine! What time is it? I don't care! _

"Daddy!" Lily screamed at the top of her lungs. Grabbing the letter, she jumped out of bed and began a full sprint. The sound of her running vibrated the entire house. Reaching the stairs, she grabbed the banister and slid down. Feet on the ground, she took off again. To afraid to stop, Lily ended up running straight into her father. SMACK. Mr. Evans dropped his teacup, spilling hot tea on his frightened daughter.

"Michael!" Mrs. Evans cried as she quickly ran to pick Lily off the floor. She pulled her over to a seat at the table and began to dry up the tea on her. Mr. Evans placed his tea cup in the sink and grabbed a cloth to clean up the floor. After drying Lily off, Mrs. Evans looked at her daughter's face. There was no sign of pain from being burned, instead it was fear.

"What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Yes, but that's not why I'm terrified." Mr. Evans slightly turned his head to the side as he glanced at his daughter. She didn't say a word. The only movement she made was extending her arm and placing the letter on the table. Mr. Evans picked it up and opened it. Petunia entered the room yawning and scratched her head.

"What's happening? Why is the baby screaming?" she asked sleepily. Mr. Evans shifted the papers in his hands. Mrs. Evans was becoming anxious in the silence. She gave her husband a questioning look. He opened his mouth to speak when the doorbell rang. He left taking the papers with him. A few moments later, Mr. Evans returned with someone. It appeared to be woman. She was wearing a long burgundy dress topped with a black cloak. She was an odd sight in the room of well-dressed adults and two girls in pajamas.

"This is Annalie Jerot" Mr. Evans said. The woman pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing her long, brown hair, light blue eyes, and a soft face. "Good Morning. I've been chosen to help Lily with her school supplies and any other preparations or concerns she might have." Petunia looked as though she had been slapped across the face. "School supplies?" she questioned.

"For Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry of course, your father is holding her letter of acceptance" Annalie pointed out. Mrs. Evans stood up took the letter from her husband. She read it over with trembling hands. Lily glanced around at everyone in the room her mind buzzing. The only words that seemed to be repeating were "school of witchcraft." Mrs. Evans finished the letter and glanced at Lily. "We have a witch in the family, isn't it wonderful?" was her only response. This outraged Petunia, her face flushed dark red. "FREAK!" she screeched running out of the room.

"Lily, go get dressed while your mother and I have a word with our guest. Do not say a word to your sister, do you understand me?" Mr. Evans asked a little too calm for Lily's liking. She nodded and left the room. Lily returned a few moments later dressed in her usual clothes and the four of them left the house. Mrs. Evans told Lily that Mrs. White would check in on Petunia. They all got into the Evans's car and followed Annalie's directions.

She showed Lily how to get to a place called Diagon Alley. Walking through a dimly lit pub called the Leaky Cauldron was an interesting adventure. Tom, the toothless bartender, was very nice to the Evans family, though some of the occupants were not what Lily had imagined. Annalie described the different sort of creatures in the pub like goblins, warlocks, and hags. In the back of the pub was a small little alleyway. It was a dead end. Annalie walked up to the wall, pulling out what looked like a stick from her inner cloak pocket. She called Lily to her side and taught Lily how to enter Diagon Alley. She tapped the wall in five places, steeping back to allow the bricks to reform into a doorway.

The Evans spent a few hours walking up and down the alley. Lily enjoyed looking through all the shop windows. Many children were standing in front of one store, eyeing a broomstick. Lily looked at them with extreme confusion. She did not have long to ponder any possible ideas for the fascination with the broom because it was time for her to leave.

The sun was setting on the horizon as the Evans arrived in the driveway. Lily looked up at the windows on the second floor and saw her sister. Petunia's face showed scorn and contempt. She quickly closed the curtains when she noticed Lily watching her. Annalie walked up behind Lily and said, "I must be going now. Have a great time at Hogwarts." She pulled a package out of her inner robe pocket. Lily eyed it curiously.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Just think of it as a good luck present to go with the owl your parents bought for you," Annalie smiled. Lily's impatient fingers quickly ripped through the paper, revealing a green book titled Quidditch Through the Ages. She looked up with a confused expression.

"It will explain the children and the brooms today," Annalie hugged Lily and descended down the driveway. She looked back at the house, and then she disappeared.

Lily and Natalie spent the remainder of the summer together. From dawn till dusk, the girls were inseparable, but all things must come to an end. The day when they said goodbye was difficult. Neither one actually said anything close to goodbye because deep down both girls knew once it was said, it was final. The next day both would begin a new life. Lily quietly packed all her books, cloaks and her owl. Once everything was packed and situated, she glanced at the window. With a heavy heart, Lily waved at Natalie's dark window and whispered, "Goodbye."

Please review,

Love Harley


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